Many Canadian businesses have taken action in recent weeks with ‘Buy Canadian’ campaigns – Image: Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press/empics/picture alliance
The Trump administration’s changing position on trade tariffs appears to have sparked a trend in opposition: boycott campaigns against American products from consumers and companies.
Donald Trump’s suite of so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs may be on hold for now, and somewhat watered down, but consumers outside of America maintain boycotts against products from the United States.
From Canada to Europe — traditional US allies are among the hardest hit — people are rallying behind “buy local” initiatives organized on social media and within bricks-and-mortar shops.
Trump imposed a blanket 10% duty on all imports into the US on April 2. A “reciprocal” tariff began at 12:01 a.m. on April 9 on select nations before the US President announced later the same day that he would now implement a 90 day pause and lower most tariffs to the 10% base rate. The one exception to the new arrangement is China, which faces 125% tariffs after Trump said the country had shown a “lack of respect” to the “world’s markets.”
While some affected countries are rolling out their own trade barriers, consumers have been waging their own campaigns in response.
In the EU, which initially had an additional 20% tariff slapped on their exports by the US before the April 9 climbdown, locals are trying to upend — sometimes literally — American products.
Consumer boycotts gather pace
Several Facebook groups have been set up since Trump first indicated tariff measures to organize boycotts and campaigns. A Swedish group called “Bojkotta varor fran USA” in Swedish, meaning “Boycott goods from the US,” had almost 86,000 members when the tariffs were due to come in.
It hopes boycotts will pressure the Trump administration to end its sanctions. The use of the American platform Facebook is justified as it is “the best weapon,” it added.
A French group called “BOYCOTT USA: Achetez Francais et Europeen!” — BOYCOTT USA: Buy French and European! — has almost 30,000 members.
There also appears to be support for a similar stance in Germany. Research group Civey found 64% of Germans would prefer to avoid US products, if possible. A slim majority said Trump’s policies are already influencing their shopping choices.
An online movement across social media and messaging boards like Reddit has also led to consumers in Europe and Canada turning American products upside down on store shelves, hoping the visual cue will dissuade purchasers.
European companies are also taking action against US firms. Denmark’s largest retailer, Salling Group, has said it will tag European products in its stores with a black star to help customers identify them.
The company will still sell US products, but its CEO Anders Hagh wrote on LinkedIn the new label is an “extra service for customers who want to buy goods with European brands.”
Meanwhile, some companies are taking even more decisive action. Norway’s Haltbakk Bunkers, which provides oil and fuel to ships, recently said it would stop supplying fuel to US Navy ships.
Tesla sales drop amid Musk wrath
The most prominent brand to suffer consumer wrath globally has been Tesla.
Run by Elon Musk, Trump’s biggest campaign donor and a special government adviser tasked with slashing US bureaucracy via the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) taskforce, the Tesla brand has lost 40% of its share price since January 1, and been the target of public — and sometimes violent — protests across the globe.
Global sales declined 13% in the first quarter of 2025, despite discounting and financing offers from dealerships. It’s been most pronounced in Europe, which saw January sales 45% lower than the same time last year, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.
Tesla sales in Europe fell throughout 2024, down 13% across the European Union.
It’s been a win for local manufacturers. In the first three months of 2025, Volkswagen became the top EV seller, ahead of BMW and three VW subsidiaries — Skoda, Audi and Seat. Tesla was eighth after previously dominating the field.
‘Buy Canadian’ campaign among rising anti-Trump sentiment
In March, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on Canadian steel, aluminum, cars and goods not covered by the Canada-US-Mexico free trade agreement.
Rising anti-Trump sentiment has seen the Liberal Party, previously run by Justin Trudeau and now by Prime Minister Mark Carney, stage a dramatic recovery in polls. In early 2025, it trailed the Conservative Party by 25% but a stunning turnaround now sees it narrowly leading many polls heading in to the April 24 election.
Public sentiment against US goods is also strong. Several websites and apps have even emerged, such as Buy Beaver and Maple Scan, that help shoppers identify US products when shopping. Maple Scan is currently the fourth highest ranked app on the iPhone app store in Canada.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford has been outspoken in favor of the ‘Buy Canadian’ movement – Image: Chris Young/The Canadian Press/picture alliance
Many Canadian businesses have also taken action with “Buy Canadian” campaigns. In Ontario, the province’s Liquor Control Board announced it would stop stocking US-made products such as bourbon and wines in its stores. Other provinces, like British Columbia and New Brunswick, have taken similar action.
That mood is increasingly reflected among consumers. Dylan Lobo runs a website called “Made in CA,” which aims to provide an online directory of Canadian-made goods. He told Business Insider magazine that his website had recently seen a major surge in traffic.
“There’s a lot of patriotism right now in this country,” he told the magazine. “There’s a huge sense that Canadians want to support other Canadians.”
Several apps have even emerged, such as Buy Beaver and Maple Scan, that help shoppers identify US products when shopping.
In March, Ontario Premier Doug Ford also ended a CA$100 million ($69 million, €63.3 million) contract with Starlink, the telecommunications company owned by Elon Musk. “Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy,” he said on Musk’s social media platform X.
US protectionism also sparks European backlash
Beyond Europe and Canada, many business leaders are aware of the potential backlash against US products and how it may affect their businesses.
That includes global companies that have acquired US brands.
Takeshi Niinami, CEO of Japanese drinks giant Suntory Holdings — which owns brands such as Jim Beam — warned just weeks after Trump returned to the White House that US brands would be targeted by international consumers.
“We laid out the strategic and budget plan for 2025 expecting that American products, including American whiskey, will be less accepted by those countries outside of the US because of first, tariffs and, second, emotion,” he told the Financial Times.
Norway’s Haltbakk Bunkers has said it will no longer help refuel US Navy ships – Image: Nicolas Maeterlinck/BELGA/picture alliance
That suggests boycotts and consumer behavior could affect sales for US companies in Canada, Europe and elsewhere, with data released over the coming months likely to be watched closely on both sides of the Atlantic.
Beyond Europe and Canada, many business leaders are aware of the potential backlash against US products and how it may affect their businesses.
Garritt van Dyk, a lecturer in history at the University of Waikato in New Zealand said a backlash against US goods has echoes of the infamous “freedom fries” campaign of 2003, when French opposition to the invasion of Iraq led to a politically-motivated renaming of french fries in parts of the US.
“There have been times in the past where you get this weird reaction of: ‘We don’t want that to be part of our culture anymore,“‘ he said.
He thinks the sense of reputational damage suffered by US firms and producers could be significant in the end. “In terms of damage to brand and reputation, it can have an effect because in a crowded marketplace, people can make choices,” said van Dyk.
A spokesperson for The European Consumer Organisation, which represents the interests of consumers across Europe, said it doesn’t have a position on the issue of boycotts yet, and was focused on “working out how the tariffs will impact consumers.”
In a statement to DW, the organization also said it is working with US consumer groups on “how to keep the transatlantic cooperation working in the interest of consumers.” (DW.com/NAN 10-04-25)
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